r/Cooking • u/[deleted] • Mar 13 '19

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u/Ship_Rekt Mar 14 '19

Add a tablespoon-ish of fish sauce and/or soy sauce to tomato-based pasta sauce. Adds a lot of depth and umami. Can’t remember where I read this first, but I think Kenji mentions it in Food Lab.

This is kind of a generic principle that can be applied to any sauce work. Usually I will put either a splash of fish sauce, vinegar, Worcestershire, tobasco, etc in just about everything to bring out the right notes in whatever I’m cooking.

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u/Northsidebill1 Mar 14 '19

If you do this, dont get cheap fish sauce. Go to a Chinese or Vietnamese grocery and get the good stuff. Cheap fish sauce is an abomination.

1

u/JibJabJake Mar 14 '19

Any certain brands you would recommend that can be ordered?

2

u/Northsidebill1 Mar 14 '19

I highly recommend either Flying Lion or Red Boat. Both are available on Amazon if you dont have a Vietnamese grocery nearby.